5. Try something not from a standard wine package. Box, tetrapak, can, or flasq, you gotta try out something outside your comfort zone. There’s good stuff to be had, and the only way you’re gonna know is by experimenting!
4. Enjoy a little beer. Sometimes, to appreciate wine, you need to appreciate beer. Real beer. Craft beer. So, go on a beerwalk. Try a mixed cocktail staring an amazing local craft brew. Pick up something new at the local bottle shop, and don’t hesitate to ask for a recommendation! Just like at a wine shop, beer folk can be just as helpful
3. Head out to a new winery or wine region you wouldn’t usually visit. You would be amazed at how many wineries and AVAs there are to visit in these United States. Heck! There’s wine being made in every state of our great 50! Pull out a map, close your eyes, and randomly point to where your next mini wine adventure will take you.
2. Go the exact opposite of your favorite wine! Like white? Try red or rose. Like sparkling? Dry a port or sherry. Think that’s crazy? Nope, just the best possible way to be deviant and break out of your beverage rut!
1. Celebrate being a wine deviant on my very own, self-proclaimed #winedeviant day, Friday the 13th. Break out of the superstitious shell, and throw a little gathering where you and some friends share wines that are different from what you would usually drink. Not sure what to bring/serve? See point #2 above. And don’t forget to tweet or Facebook post your wine selection with the #winedeviant hash tag. I’d love to see how you celebrated one of two Wine Deviant days of the year!

Have fun, and don’t forget to stay hydrated!

You may recall, a few weeks back, my mentioning an interesting sparkling wine I came across at a tasting on Friday the 13th not too long ago. I found out where I could pick up this beauty of a bottle and finally dove in head first. As part of a Marble Porch day I held in celebration of my birthday (9 days down, 25 more to celebrate), this was one of two bottles of bubbly I opened, and it performed very much as it had the first time I enjoyed it. Here’s a few bits for you to quaff…

Jacques Pelvas Brut Rose NV, Provence, France

The short:

1. If you didn’t know what this varietal was off the bat, and had even a little experience tasting bubbly, you’d notice that the smell and taste were different than your standard brut. Lovely, light, but a fruit aroma you’re (pleasantly) not used to smelling or tasting from traditional sparkling wines. What’s in it? GRENACHE! Surprise!! I’ve yet to hear of a Grenache sparkling rose, but I really liked this one.
2. The label is pretty basic…nothing that would make it stand out among the rest on the shelf
3. So far, I can’t tell that these folks have any kind of actual physical presence…so unless I hear otherwise, I’ll just have to be happy with finding these bottles
4. The varietal isn’t as popular as others, but it’s even less common in the sparkling category, which automatically makes this a pretty deviant wine!

The judgement: 4 out of 5. I really enjoyed this wine. Good balance, easy sipper, and nice aroma to it. And the PRICE can’t be beat – $11 or $12. But be prepared to hunt for it. I picked up my bottle(s) at The Gourmet Corner in San Mateo, and it was worth the trip. I walked out with 2 bottles of this and 3 others to try out, and spent just barely over $70. Score! Make sure you pick up a couple of bottles, as I think you’ll find, much like me, that it’s easy to go through these. No joke, I’m probably going to pick up a minimum 6 bottles, possibly a case. Sante!

The nerdy notes:

• nose: light, hint of strawberry
• taste:  more of that strawberry, slight note of barely ripe cherry, and some kind of floral that I couldn’t put my finger on at the time of tasting. Nice mouthfeel and much more up my alley when it comes to sparkling. Good amount of bubble stream, too!

My friend Thea decided to host a bubbles party for a few of her friends, and it just so happened to fall on a Friday the 13th. Your loyal Wine Deviant (me) was in desperate need of a alcoholic beverage to wash away a difficult evening, and talked myself into finally driving northward for about 50 minutes to enjoy a gathering.

Along the way, as I often do, I had KCBS on the radio, and a  commentary article came on that sparked my need to write a quick piece for my blog. During that commentary, some statistics and numbers were mentioned stating that traditionally in this country, it’s uncommon for events and parties to be held, due to our almost irrational worry over Friday the 13th. And when these events or gatherings aren’t held, it affects a number of industries, including hoteliers, venue halls, catering companies, and many other supporting jobs. We’re practically doing our own economy in because of our silly Friday the 13th phobias! (Okay, “doing in” is a bit of an exaggeration, but the money we lose is ridiculous) So, as the reporter was wrapping up, she challenged her listeners to not be so worried about attending a party, get out there and enjoy ourselves. And if we still that superstitious, to take a non-monetary approach – just keep avoiding those black cats and walking under ladders. I couldn’t agree more, and only wished that I could have found an online version of the commentary. Instead, you can enjoy a little history video bit here.

So, in I walk to the party with some food items and my bottle of bubbly (which I didn’t get to taste that night – boo!), and start to enjoy conversations with other attendees. By the time everyone had arrived, our hostess came to a realization: there were 13 people at her home with 13 bottles of wine on Friday the 13th. WHOA, talk about being deviant! After our hostess noticed this, I brought up the news piece I had heard on the drive over with some of the guests, and many of us proclaimed that Friday the 13th days were some of our best days of the year.

In fact, this day was such a good day, I not only made 12 new acquaintances, but I found a lovely bottle of bubbly, a Jacques Pelvas Brut Rose, that I will be sure to review in the very near future. It was the stand-out of the night in my opinion, and definitely qualified as a deviant bottle in my book!

So, for all of those out there reading this, we have two more opportunities to deviate from all the phobia folks and enjoy a gathering on Friday the 13th. My challenge to all of you: hold a deviant party on April 13 and July 13, enjoy a few different bottles of your alcoholic beverage of choice (wine, beer or spirits), and be sure to report back on how you deviated with a joyfulness and free feeling!